1. Field of the Invention
This application is related to Ser. No. 795,933, filed Nov. 7, 1985, U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,824, and entitled "Playing Card Holder", and Ser. No. 828,630, filed Feb. 10, 1986, U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,966, and entitled "Playing Card Holder with Curvature", both by the present inventor. The invention relates to playing card holders, and more particularly to holders adapted to stand by themselves and to hold a number of overlapping playing cards at the same time.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous attempts have been made to construct a playing card holder that can be used by either adults or children during a card game. An ideal playing card holder should be capable of easily accepting either single cards or a number of overlapping cards, should not allow the cards to slip either sideways or outwards but should allow individual cards to be removed without unintentionally pulling out or dislodging other cards, should display the cards so that they can be easily recognized and sorted by the user, and should be strong and durable in use. Unfortunately, no card holders are available which are known to satisfy all of these criteria. In addition, it would be desirable that the card holder simulate the action of a human hand as much as possible in holding cards. This could include features such as being able to hold the device comfortably in one's hand, being able to lay the cards face down or turn the holder completely upside down without the cards falling out of the holder, and being able to set the holder upright either vertically or tilted back at an angle, all with a single unitary movement.